The Phantom of the Ninjas
by ashz20
Summary: For the past few weeks, Sakura has been going off into the woods by herself. When Naruto and Ino asked her about it, she just shrugged them off. The truth is about to be revealed. Very loosely based off of The Phantom of the Opera. GxS
1. Chapter 1

**Phantom of the Ninjas**

_Chapter 1_

A loud-mouthed blond ninja walked across Konoha to a run-down apartment building. He barged in the front door and walked up the stairs and stopped before the door marked number 13. He started pounding on the door. He took a deep breath then started to yell.

"SAKURA! SAKURA, WAKE UP! IT'S ALREADY PAST NOON!"

Inside the small apartment on a rickety old bed, a pink-haired kunoichi groaned as she fell off the bed.

"I'm going to kill you Naruto." She said as she crawled of the floor. Eyes still closed, she made her way to the front door. On the way, she passed the living room, with only a TV, and an old couch, the small bathroom, and the small kitchen with only a sink, refrigerator, and an old oven. On the other side of the door, Naruto had his fist raised in the air and took a giant breath, prepared for round two of telling and pounding on the door. That is until the door opened and a not-very-happy looking Sakura stood on the other side.

"Naruto," She said in a low, dangerous hiss. "What the hell possessed you to come pounding on my door, waking me up when I was up late last night training?" Naruto gulped and took a step back from the murderous aura that Sakura was emitting.

"W-Well um." Naruto stuttered. "Well the gang and I were going to see the new movie that's out and Hinata wanted to know if you wanted to come." Sakura sighed.

"What time?" Naruto laughed nervously.

"Um the movie starts in 10 minutes." Sakura sent a growl and a glare at Naruto before she turned and ran back into her apartment. Eight minutes later, she emerged, pink hair still wet. She closed the door behind her ad locked it. She then placed the key in her kunai holder and turned to Naruto.

"Let's go." He said already running down the stairs. "We're late." Sakura frowned and ran after him.

The two reached the movie theater with 30 seconds to look for seats before the movie started. They looked through the darkness and found all of their friends sitting in the same row. Naruto instantly sat in between Hinata and Neji. He gave Hinata a kiss on the cheek which earned him a glare from Neji. He did not approve of them dating and had been playing babysitter for the past two weeks.

Sakura looked for her spot and scowled when she saw that the only seat left was next to _him_ on the end. Sakura hadn't forgiven him since he left to go with Orochimaru. Her six year grudge was as strong today as an 18 year old as it was when she was 12.

The movie started so Sakura regretfully took her seat. The opening credits started and she was surprised to find that the movie they had come to see was "The Phantom of the Opera". What surprised her the most was that the boys came to see it.

About halfway through the movie, when Christine and Raoul were singing on the opera house roof, Sakura felt an arm snake around her shoulders. With a speed faster than the eye could see, Sakura had removed the offending appendage and had smacked Sasuke upside the head.

"Sakura,I…" Sasuke started, but he was stopped when Sakura held up her hand. He decided to leave it alone.

After the movie, everybody was talking about the parts of the movie they liked the best. The boys all agreed they liked the swordfight the best. Typical.

"My favorite part was when Christine and Raoul were singing on the roof." Said Ino, leaning into Sai. They had been dating ever since he replaced Sasuke on Team 7 when he had left. When Sasuke came back, Sai stuck around to help Ino at her family's flower shop. Tenten and Hinata agreed. Naruto noticed that Sakura hadn't agreed.

"What about you Sakura?" He asked. Sasuke used this to try and get closer to her again.

"Yeah Sakura," He said wrapping his arm around her waist. "Did you like the romance between Christine and Raoul?" An anger mark suddenly popped up on Sakura's forehead. Without even batting an eyelash, Sakura had Sasuke's arm twisted painfully behind his back with his face in the dirt. She let go and turned towards Naruto's shocked face.

"Well Naruto," She said calmly as if nothing happened. "I liked the romance between Christine and the Phantom. I think that the _pretty boy_ ruined what could have been a very happy ending between Christine and Phantom." Sakura sent a glare towards Sasuke before she turned to Hinata. "Hinata, thank you for inviting me, I really appreciated it."

"Hey!"

"Oh yeah. Thanks Naruto, for coming to get me. I'm going to go train. I'll see you all later." Sakura turned on heel and started walking towards her secret training grounds.

Sasuke stood up and tried to follow Sakura, but Ino and Naruto had grabbed onto each of his arms.

"Uh-uh" Naruto said shaking his head.

"Come on, everybody knows not to follow Sakura when she trains by herself." Ino added.

Sasuke gave up and instead grabbed Naruto's arm and started to drag him towards Team 7's old training grounds.

"Come on, we're going to train."

On the other side of the forest, Sakura was stepping through the brush and walked into a beautiful scene. When Sakura had been sparring with her mentor, they had stumbled into the area. It was a large clearing surrounded by trees. To the left of where Sakura entered, there was a rock cliff and a beautiful waterfall cascading from it, leading into a large clear pool of water. Around the rocks by the pool were gorgeous exotic flowers.

Sakura closed her eyes and performed a few quick hand seals. When she was done, she slammed a fist into the ground. With her monstrous strength she created a very large, deep crater. After a minute, the earth shifted and the crater disappeared and showed no signs that it was ever there. Sakura smirked with satisfaction. She created three identical clones of herself and started to spar with them, completely unaware of her approaching visitor.

Gaara was a bit surprised to see four identical pink-haired kunoichis fighting each other 3 on 1. He watched a while before he realized who it was in front of him.

'It's her. The one who tried to protect the Uchiha. It looks as though she has finally grown mentally and physically. It seems she has stopped following the Uchiha, but then again he did leave. Maybe her opinion of him changed.'

Gaara watched Sakura awhile longer before he went into meditation.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

Gaara had just left Hokage Tower. He thought it was extremely funny that he wasn't the only one whose office was buried under mountains and mountains of evil papers. He was in Konoha to "strengthen the alliance between it and Suna." This really meant that Temari and Kankuro had decided that Gaara needed a break from his pestering advisors.

Gaara decided to go towards the woods to get in some training and meditation since his Kazekage duties have been interfering with that lately. He walked a good ten minutes before he heard sounds of a fight. He jumped up on a tree branch above him so he could see what was on the other side of the thick bushes.

Gaara was a bit surprised to see four identical pink-haired kunoichis fighting each other 3 on 1. He watched for a while before he realized who it was in front of him.

'It's her, the girl who tried to protect Uchiha in the chunnin exams. It looks as though she's grown physically and mentally. You'd think she'd still be hanging around Uchiha. Maybe after he left her opinion of him changed.'

Gaara watched Sakura awhile longer before he went into meditation.

About an hour later, Gaara fell out of meditation, literally. The earth shook so hard that he fell out of the tree. Angrily, he jumped back into the tree to see what was happening. He peered into the clearing and was surprised to find the Hokage herself sparring with the still present pink-haired kunoichi. The Hokage stopped and Gaara heard her speaking.

"Alright Sakura, take a break. Regain your chakra and we'll try once more before we call it a day." Sakura nodded, but didn't look to happy.

'Must be a new jutsu she can't do.' Gaara said to himself. He watched as Sakura walked over to the pool of water at the base of the waterfall. She sat down, took off her sandals, and slipped her feet into the water.

A couple minutes passed by and the blonde spoke up again.

"Come on, Sakura. Last try and then I have to go sign more papers." Tsunade groaned in memory of the heaping piles of paper scattered across her desk. Sakura smiled and let out a little laugh.

Still undetected in the trees, Gaara watched on curiously. He decided that he liked it when Sakura smiled.

'Wait, what?'

'**You like her. Don't you?'** Shukaku asked him.

'No!' Gaara immediately replied.

'**I think you do. And I must say, she's not a bad choice.**

'Choice for what?'

'**Our mate.'**

'What! I don't think so.'

'**Oh come on. You know you want to know what she's like in bed. Especially if she's this aggressive in training.'**

'Shut up!'

'**I have an idea. Why don't you let me out for a while? I could show her a good time. I could-'**

'Don't finish that sentence. Go away and leave me alone.'

'**Fine. I know where I'm unappreciated, I'll leave. But you know I'm right.'**

'Whatever.'

By the time Shukaku and Gaara had finished their conversation, Tsunade had left, but Sakura still remained trying to perform the jutsu. He watched her try many times and she still failed.

Sakura finally gave up and walked to the pool of water slowly. She dropped to the ground chakra drained.

Back in the trees, Gaara realized what the problem with the problem with the jutsu was. Then he heard Sakura mumbling.

"…try again tomorrow…don't know what I'm doing wrong…"

Gaara let out a tiny smile. She would be here tomorrow. And so would he. With a silent command, sand swirled around him and he was back in his guest room in the Hokage Tower. Sakura immediately sat up. She had felt a spike in chakra very close to where she was resting. Looking up at the sky, she saw that the sun was already setting and was producing beautiful blends of red, orange, yellow, and pink.

Sakura sighed, 'That is so beautiful. I'm glad I found this place. And only me and Tsunade know its exact location. Well, time to go. If I say any longer Naruto will send out ANBU to find me.' Sakura turned around and started walking back towards her apartment.

* * *

The next day, Sakura woke up early. She had decided to spend the morning training and then the rest in the afternoon because she had agreed to meet Ino for lunch.

Sakura showered then dressed in black shorts and a black tank top with a fishnet over top. She strapped her kunai pouch to her left thigh, and then set off to her training area, sun barely peeking over the trees.

On top of the Hokage Tower, Gaara felt a familiar chakra move towards the woods. He opened his eyes and saw a flash of pink disappear behind the tree line. He stood up and stretched his black clad body, stiff from a night's worth of mediation.

Sand started to swirl around him ready to transport him to Sakura's secret paradise, but it stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the blonde Hokage.

"Do not harm my student." Tsunade said.

"I have no intention of doing so." Gaara replied as Tsunade removed her hand.

"Alright I trust you. There are reasons why she can't perform that jutsu." Gaara simply nodded and disappeared in a swirl of sand.

* * *

By the time Gaara arrived in the tree by the clearing, Sakura had already finished her warm-ups and was trying to perform the jutsu. After many unsuccessful attempts, Gaara decided to make his presence known.

On the ground where Sakura was laying in defeat, she felt the new chakra signature.

'It's the same as yesterday. Who is it?' She asked herself.

"Whoever you are, go away. I'm in no mood to fight with you."

"I know what the problem with your jutsu is." Came Gaara's voice from the trees.

"Oh really? And what would that be?" Sakura asked skeptically.

"Your pools of chakra are too shallow. In order to absorb and redirect your opponent's chakra, you must have space for it. You need to widen your chakra reserves.

"Ok Mr. Know-it-all. How exactly am I supposed to do this?" Sakura retorted.

"That is something you can't do alone. You need someone to push chakra into your reserves." As he was talking, Gaara slowly started walking towards the edge of the clearing.

"And who's going to help me? You?" Sakura got up and moved to the edge of the water. Removing her sandals, she slipped her feet into the water. She never expected the coming answer.

"If you ask me nicely."

"W-What?"

"I said 'If you ask me nicely' I will help you." Sakura was stunned. She didn't even know this person and yet he was willing to help her with her chakra.

"Let me see your face." She said softly.

"I can't do that." Came the reply from behind her. Sakura looked in the crystal clear water and saw her reflection. She closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, she noticed a new image in the water. She turned her head to the side and saw that the image was real.

Standing next to her was a tall boy with red hair. He was wearing black training clothes. The strangest thing about him was that he had mask on the left side of his face. It looked like it was made of sand.

'**OMG! He is one hot mama.'** Inner Sakura shouted.

'He's ok.' Sakura answered.

'**What? Are you blind? He is the most gorgeous thing on the planet.'**

'Whatever.'

"Who are you?" Sakura asked, ignoring her inner self who was rambling on about how Sakura was so stupid and that the hottest guy in the world was standing right in front of her.

"You can call me, Phantom." The red-head replied. "For that is all I am to some people." Sakura's thoughts briefly wandered to the movie she saw the other day. Then she asked,

"Phantom, will you teach me what I need to master this jutsu?" The side of the red-head's face that was not hidden by the sand mask rose into a smile.

"I will help you." He replied.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

The next day, Sakura woke up late again. She got dressed in her usual black and mesh outfit. She performed her morning ritual and left her apartment.

Sakura was about to walk towards the hospital when she remembered that Tsunade made her take time off in favor of some rest.

'I guess it's a good thing that sensei made me take time off work.' She thought to herself as words from last night floated through her head.

_*FLASHBACK*_

"_Conserve your chakra and strength tomorrow." He said. "My training is not what you'd call easy. It will be long and a bit painful." Sakura nodded as the masked red-head started to walk back towards the tree line. "Be here tomorrow at sunset. I'll be waiting."_

"_Ok. I'll be here." Sakura responded as his figure disappeared into the dense trees._

_*END FLASHBACK*_

"So what am I going to do today?" She asked herself.

"Oh shit. Lunch." Sakura said as she ran off to meet a very pissed of Ino for lunch.

"You're late." Ino said as Sakura sat down at their table in the café.

"Thank you for pointing out the obvious, Ino." Sakura replied yawning.

"You were out training late again weren't you?"

"It wasn't _that_ late."

"Sakura, the more you push yourself, the farther away from your goal you'll get." Ino stated matter-of-factly.

"Wow Ino, I didn't know you had so much wisdom." Sakura retorted sarcastically. "Let's just eat. I'm starving." Ino nodded in compliance.

As they waited for their food, the two friends gossiped about random things. They talked for hours until sunset rolled around and Sakura abruptly stood up.

"Shit. Ino I have to go." Sakura said leaving some money on the table.

"Sakura, wait. Where are you going?" Ino yelled after her, but it was too late. Sakura was already out the door.

When the sun had disappeared beyond the horizon, Sakura burst into the clearing.

"I'm sorry I'm…" Sakura looked around. There was no one there. "…late."

"Yes, you are." Sounded a familiar voice from above her. She looked up. On the tree branch directly over Sakura's head sat the 'Phantom.' He was once again wearing his all black attire and his sand mask.

"Um…sorry?" Sakura offered. The boy jumped down from the tree and landed in front of her.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Sakura replied. Gaara nodded and led her to the middle of the clearing and he told her to lie down in the grass. Without question she did so.

Gaara sat down above her head and his hands near her temples.

"So what exactly are you going to do?" Sakura asked him. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again he replied.

"I'm going to widen your pools of chakra so that the jutsu you were trying to do will work. The jutsu allows you to absorb another's chakra and use it. I am going to push my chakra into you so that it will widen your reserves. You will feel a slight pressure, but don't fight it. The pressure is just my chakra entering your system and mixing with it." Sakura slightly nodded.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah." Gaara pushed a little bit of chakra into Sakura. She tensed for a moment before she relaxed and closed her eyes.

After spending so much time around Naruto, the on-going silence started to annoy Sakura. So she decided to make conversation with the mysterious boy.

"So…What village are you from?"

"…"

"How old are you?"

"19. What about you?" Sakura smiled that the fact that she got an answer.

"I'm 18. What rank are you?"

"I'd rather not say." Sakura's eyebrows furrowed into a frown. "I don't like talking about myself much." Sakura nodded in understanding.

"Do you have any family?" Sakura asked him. She opened her eyes again and saw the boy sitting above her nod.

"Yes. I have an older brother and sister. You?"

"I have no real family anymore. I was an only child and my parents died two years ago. But now my teammate is my brother, my ex-sensei was like my dad, and Tsunade-shishou acts like my mom. So in a way I still have a family." Gaara opened his black-rimmed eyes and saw a mix of different emotions in Sakura's eyes. Sadness. Anger. A small amount of happiness. He thought on what she had said then realized something.

"Aren't you supposed to be in three man teams?" Sakura's eyes narrowed and she spoke in a cold voice.

"The other member of my team, I consider neither a friend nor a part of my family."

"What could one person have done to gain that much hatred from such a beautiful and caring girl?" Sakura faintly blushed at the compliment.

"I loved him. I loved him with all of my heart. Six years ago he left to gain the power he needed to be an avenger. He deserted his village and me. He's been back for a year and a half now, but I still haven't forgiven him for what he's done. He doesn't deserve the pardon he got from the village, nor does he deserve my friendship anymore."

"I understand. I was betrayed in my life also. But I'd like to ask you a question." Sakura nodded ok. "Do I deserve your friendship?" Sakura was shock to say the least, but she still replied.

"You who I have just met…" Gaara dropped his gaze because he knew what was coming. Nobody wanted to be his friend, whether they knew who he was or not. "…have shown me more kindness then some people who have known me my whole life. I would be stupid not to have you as a friend." Gaara was shocked.

"So, you will be my friend?" Sakura's expression softened as she gently smiled.

"I would love to be your friend." The two locked eyes and smiled at each other. Gaara sighed and removed his hands from the sides of Sakura's head.

"Is that it?" Sakura asked sitting up and turning around to face the masked boy.

"For today, yes. I have used a fair amount of chakra and it is getting late." Sakura looked at the watch she had tucked away in her kunai pouch. It read 10:37.

"Wow. Time really flies when you're talking with friends. So what happens now?"

"Tomorrow go about your normal day. Come back at sunset and we will see if you can get any farther in your jutsu. Your chakra will feel strange since mine has temporarily mixed with it."

"Ok. I won't forget." Gaara stood up and lent a hand to help Sakura off the ground also.

"Thank you, Phantom, for helping me with this." Then Sakura surprised herself and Gaara when she leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Bye." She whispered, then she disappeared into the dark tree line.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

Days went by and Sakura got closer to being able to complete her jutsu. She also got closer to the 'Phantom.' He told her a little about his past. And because she trusted him with her life, Sakura told him her life's story. She was happy to find out that he was very interested about her life. Unlike Sasuke, who would just ignore her.

'Phantom' was very interested to learn about the fight with Sand during the chunnin exams.

"While I was trying to protect Sasuke from Gaara, the only thought I had was that he would finally like me for saving him and that he wouldn't call me weak anymore. Gaara had pinned me to a tree with his sand. All the while he was fighting Naruto, I couldn't help but pity him." Phantom's eyes widened with shock. He thought that she would feel resentment, not pity.

"Gaara had not been truly loved his whole life. He was being used as a tool because so many feared him. I couldn't help but think that he and Naruto could become good friends. They had both loved their lives the same way. After Sasuke left, I began to realize that it wasn't a person like him that needed love, it was someone like Gaara. I decided from that day on I would forgive Gaara for what happened. I even thought that maybe there was a chance that I could truly love him."

Gaara felt as though he couldn't be happier. Since he had first met her, Gaara started to like Sakura's determination. When they had finished for the night, the stars and moon were shining brightly above the clearing.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Gaara nodded and Sakura smiled. "Thank you. Goodnight." Sakura leaned forward on her tip-toesand gave 'Phantom' a kiss on his unmasked cheek. Gaara saw a flush of red on Sakura's face before she disappeared in a whirlwind of cherry blossom petals.

Gaara's thoughts were still on the second unexpected kiss when he disappeared in a swirl of sand, with a bit of red adorning his face. Neither of the almost adults noticed a familiar chakra hiding in the trees. After they had left, a pair of angry red eyes appeared, black commas spinning madly.

* * *

The next day, Sasuke was sitting on the bridge Team 7 used to meet on. Glaring into the water dripping from the rain. He thought about what he witnessed that night before. His thoughts were interrupted by a shout.

"Hey! Hey Sasuke! Guess what! Hey Sasuke guess what!" Naruto stopped yelling when he came to stand infront of Sasuke.

"What do you want Naruto?" Sasuke asked irately.

"Guess what Tsunade-baa-chan said."

"…"

"She said the Kazekage is in town. And do you know who the Kazekage is?" Sasuke shook his head in the negative. "It's Gaara. Remember him from the chunnin exams?" Sasuke's eyes widened in shock and his mind was running a mile a minute.

'Red hair…


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5_

Sakura woke up early for the first time in a while, so naturally she rewarded herself with a nice long, hot shower. She was happily humming as she dressed in black capris and a black spaghetti strap tank-top.

As she was getting something ready for breakfast, Sakura pondered on what to do today. She caught a glimpse of the calendar and noticed the date.

'To the flower shop then.' Sakura decided as she grabbed her toast.

Ten minutes later she arrived at the Yamanaka flower shop. She opened the door and the bell above her made a tinkling sound. But apparently the two people behind the counter were too preoccupied with each other to notice Sakura. She sighed gently.

'Will I ever have anyone? Hinata has Naruto. Ino has Sai. Tenten has Neji.'

'**What about the 'Phantom'?'** Inner Sakura asked. Sakura was shocked.

'W-Whatabout him?' She stuttered.

'**What if he thinks about you the same way you think about him?'**

'I don't think about him!' Sakura yelled back.

'**Girl, I live in your head, don't tell me I don't know what you're thinking.'**

'We can't be together. I don't even know what he looks like.'

'**Your point? We know he has red hair, jade-colored eyes, a gorgeous body, and so far a good personality. What else do you need to know?'**

'His real name maybe? What about the questions about his past or where he's from that he never answers?'

'**So he's mysterious. You can't tell me that that's not a turn on.'**

'Whatever.'

Sakura cleared her throat effectively separating the two blushing teens.

"Sakura!" Ino said a bit nervously. "Sai and I didn't even heat you come in. to what do I owe the visit?" Sakura's slightly happy mood deflated when she remembered whatshe came to the flower shop for. She replied.

"I came to get a flower." Realization hit Ino's face.

"Oh, Sakura. Take whatever you want. I'll take care of paying for it." Sakura let out a miniscule smile.

"Thank you Ino." Sakura started walking towards the tulips she normally gets, except this time she spotted something different. In the corner behind all of the bright-colored roses were exotic looking black , she picked up one that was still a bud and hadn't bloomed yet. Silently she left the flower shop, leaving the couple behind.

"She still hasn't gotten over it." Ino said softly.

"What happened?" Sai asked her as they both sat on the edge of the counter, legs dangling of the side.

"It was two years ago. Kakashi was like her father after her parents died. He was sent on an S-ranked assassination mission. Sakura was called into the hospital for an emergency. She walked in and was told that a jounin had been injected with a rare poison. His face was blocked from Sakura's view. She immediately started to draw out the poison using her chakra. At the time, she had no way of knowing that using chakra would stimulate the poison and kill the person who had been injected."

Sai looked shocked.

"After the patient died, Sakura uncovered his face. She screamed and started going into hysterics. She kept saying 'I killed Kakashi. I killed Kakashi.' Tsunade went in the room and saw Sakura on the ground. She had used the rest of her chakra to try and revive him. Tsunade picked her up and saw that she was unconscious, but was crying nonetheless. Since then, she has never cried in front of anybody. The only time she cries is on the anniversary of Kakashi's death. Today."

Sai nodded in understanding.

* * *

_You were once my one companion_

_You were all that mattered_

_You were once a friend and father_

_Then my world was shattered_

Sakura sighed sadly as she opened the iron gates to the cemetery. It had been raining since she left Ino and Sai in the flower shop and she was now thoroughly wet.

_Wishing you were somehow here again_

_Wishing you were somehow near_

_Sometimes it seemed if I just dreamed,_

_Somehow you would be here_

But she didn't care. Today was her day of mourning. Today was the only day that she would cry over the loss of her 'father'.

_Wishing I could hear your voice again_

_Knowing that I never would_

_Dreaming of you won't help me to do_

_All that you dreamed I could_

As she made her way to his gravestone, Sakura remembered a song in the movie she saw the first day she had met the 'Phantom'.

_Passing bells and sculpted angels,_

_Cold and monumental,_

_Seem, for you, the wrong companions_

_You were warm and gentle_

Sakura reached his cold, wet gravestone and knelt in the wet grass as tears made their way down her face.

_Too many years fighting back tears_

_Why can't that past just die…?_

She placed the black rose on the gravestone that read:

Hatake Kakashi

Famous Copy-nin

Beloved Teacher, Friend, and

Father

_Wishing you were somehow here again_

_Knowing we must say goodbye_

_Try to forgive, teach me to live_

_Give me the strength to try_

Sakura lifted her head towards the still darkening grey skies, letting the rain mix with her salty tears. After a few minutes, she brought her head down and silently sobbed into her hands.

_No more memories, no more silent tears_

_No more gazing across the wasted years_

_Help me say goodbye._

The sky got darker and Sakura started to shiver from the cold rain, but refused to leave. Arms enclosed around her and she began to feel warmth again.

"You shouldn't stay out in the rain for too long, or you might not be healthy enough to finish your training." Came an all-too-familiar voice.

"I know 'Phantom'," Sakura replied. "But today is such a sad day for me." Sakura leaned back into 'Phantom's' comfortable, warm embrace.

"I know, Sakura, I know. I lost someone I loved very much also." Sakura continued to shiver as the rain came down harder. Without thinking, Gaara created an umbrella of sand over himself and Sakura. She sighed and closed her eyes in light sleep leaning against Gaara. He also closed his eyes, but kept alert.

On the other side of the cemetery, Sasuke landed behind a tall gravestone. He hid his chakra and slowly crept towards Gaara.

'**Open your eyes kit.'** Gaara's eyes opened in response to Shukaku's request. **'Be ready to fight for your girl. I smell Uchiha blood.'** Gaara didn't reply because Sakura had woken up from her light sleep.

Sakura first noticed that Gaara's arms were rapped around her keeping her warm. Then she noticed that she wasn't getting wet and looked up. She was a bit surprised at seeing sand floating above their heads. She turned her head to look at Gaara and she spoke.

"So am I correct in saying that you're a Sand-nin from Suna?" Gaara nodded and Sakura smiled brilliantly. "I heard that they got a new Kazekage. Do you know him?"

"Yes, I do know him." 'Phantom' replied. "He's a good friend of mine."

"What's he like?" Sakura was curious; she couldn't help but ask questions. Gaara forgot about the ever-nearing Sasuke as he spoke to Sakura.

"Well, he had a very sad and lonely childhood. His uncle was the only one who loved him, but that love was found to be a lie. He was treated badly when he got older and was feared by many people in his village. But there was one girl that stood up to him. For a while, he couldn't get her out of his head. And then he came here. And you know what he told me?"

Sakura shook her head in the negative.

"He told me that the girl that had always been plaguing his mind bloomed into a beautiful woman. He said that he fell in love."

Emerald and jade eyes met and locked. Gaara started to move closer to Sakura, not wanting to deny the inevitable. But instead of kissing her, he pushed her to the ground. Sakura looked completely shocked and confused, until she heard a kunai embed itself into the middle of Kakashi's gravestone.

They both sat up and looked to where the kunai had come from

"Sasuke." "Uchiha." They both said at the same time, equally as spiteful.

"Sakura, what are you doing with him? Don't you know who this is?" Sakura glared at him.

"Yes Sasuke, I know who he is." Gaara winced. "His name is 'Phantom' and he had become my best friend. And actually Sasuke, it's none of your business, but I think I've fallen in love with him." Gaara was completely overjoyed, while Sasuke grew furious. He started yelling.

"Sakura, what are you thinking! Do you know how many people he's killed? He's a monster!"

"No Sasuke," Sakura yelled back, "the only monster is the green monster of jealousy and that is you. You left and broke my heart. Well, I've healed and moved on. I found love in someone else. I think it's time you've done the same." She was now on her feet, face flushed red with anger. Gaara stood up and moved in front of Sakura and faced her. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder. He leaned over and said into Sakura's ear,

"I love you Sakura." Sakura immediately calmed down and gently smiled. Gaara pulled her into a hug.

Sasuke's anger, however, grew to a maximum. He pulled out a kunai and quick as a whip, threw it at Gaara's back. Sakura saw this over Gaara's shoulder and spun them around so that the kunai hit her instead. Gaara didn't know what had happened until Sakura screamed in pain and collapsed in his arms.

"Sakura!" Gaara dropped to the ground and gently sat her up.

"I'm fine." She said softly. "He missed my spine. It should be an easy heal. Can you get rid of the prying eyes?" Gaara nodded and a dome of sand formed around the pair. There was an opening at the top so Sakura had light by which she could see.

"Ok, now I need you to take out the kunai." Gaara firmly grasped the handle and quickly pulled it out. Sakura let out a sharp gasp of pain.

"I'm sorry." He said quickly.

"It's ok." Sakura replied in a pain-laced voice. "We just need to hurry. I need you to take off my tank-top." Sakura watched as Gaara's face turned red. "I'm bleeding out here. This is no time to be embarrassed." Gaara nodded. He lifted the edges of the black fabric and pulled it off. He was horrified to find that the back of Sakura's white breast-bind was completely soaked through with blood.

"Sakura, I think we should hurry." Gaara said nervously and worriedly.

"Keep going." Sakura replied slightly out of breath.

"Your wound is bleeding too much. I-"

"That is not what I meant. I mean you need to keep going and take off the wrap." Gaara turned an even brighter red, but he heard Sakura's labored breathing and fought off his embarrassment.

Gaara's fingers gently searched for the end of the cloth. His fingers brushed Sakura's hot skin and it sent shivers down his spine. He found the end and positioned himself behind Sakura so that she was in between his legs. She lifted her arms above her head and Gaara slowly unbound the wrap. Whenever he leaned forward to reach across her front, he felt Sakura's skin crawl. It made him smile that he had that affect on her.

The slow process continued for a minute or two before Gaara was on the last layer of cloth. He became very self-conscious of where his hands were going. Unfortunately, Sakura brought he arms down too soon and she pushed Gaara's hands on her breasts.

Gaara's hands moved almost immediately and they both turned a bright shade of tomato red. Gaara's faded almost instant when he noticed something.

"Sakura, some of the blood has started to clot and it's sticking to the cloth. I'm going to pull it off, but it's going to hurt." Sakura nodded slowly. She clenched her fists in her lap. As Gaara started to pull it off, she bit her lip to hold in a scream of pain. By the time Gaara had completely pulled of the bindings, a couple of drops of blood had fallen from Sakura's clenched fist. Gaara saw this and comfortingly placed his hands on her upper arms and rubbed soothing circles. After she calmed down, Sakura spoke.

"I need you to help me reach the wound."

"Ok." Gaara's left hand slid down Sakura's arm to reach her hand. Sakura's skin crawled again and she knew it wasn't a bad thing.

Gaara gently lifted her hand and maneuvered it to her back and placed it over the wound. It was a clean hit, straight-in, straight-out, the bad part was that it was deep, and it was now bleeding heavily from when Gaara pulled the breast bind off of it.

A soft green glow surrounded Sakura's hand as her charka stitched the wound back together. In less than five minutes, there was no evidence that a kunai had been stuck in her back. Gaara gently placed a hand on the smooth skin.

"How's it look?"

"Like nothing happened." Gaara replied as he grabbed Sakura's black tank top and put it back on her, very carefully. Tiredly, Sakura leaned back into Gaara's chest.

"That's good. Thank you for helping me with Sasuke. I'm going to need your help again. Very soon I'm going to pass out from blood loss. I would be very thankful if you could get me to Tsunade-shishou. Don't worry, I'll be fine" Sakura said as Gaara's expression changed to worry. "Thank you, Phantom."

Gaara nodded and stood up. He bent down to pick Sakura up and cradled her in his arms. She closed her eyes and sighed comfortably.

"There's something I want to tell you." Sakura said, almost asleep.

"What's that?" Gaara asked softly.

"That I…" She started sleepily. "love you…Gaara." Sakura replied finally falling asleep. Gaara smiled affectionately.

"So you knew the whole time, huh. I love you too, Sakura." Gaara whispered to her. He leaned down and gave Sakura a quick kiss on the forehead before he disappeared in a swirl of sand.


End file.
